This recipe was adapted from a recipe for kabobs, but I couldn't find the skewers, and life got crazy, and I ended up doing it this way.
You need:
Boneless chicken, cut into peices. I like thighs or breasts.
1 vidalia onion
1 large green or red pepper
about 16 broccoli florets
1 pineapple, cut into chunks (1 can of chunk pineapple OK)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon basil (I used dried, worked fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
Aluminum foil.
I have one of those cool racks for grilling veggies, and it works like a bowl. I recommend them; gets the taste of the grill, and easier to clean than the grate. I set two layers of foil in that, so it makes my packet for me pretty much. Into the foiled grill rack I put the chicken, onion, pepper, and broccoli.
In a small bowl, mix the juice, oil, and spices. Mix well. Pour over the chicken and veggies.
Seal up the packet by pulling the sides of the foil over. Don't make it too tight, or the food won't cook properly.
I'm not a great griller. My idea of grilling is to pile a bunch of charcoal inteh middle of my webber and light it, and see what happens. That's what I did with this. When the fire died down and coals were good and hot, I put my little packet in the middle over the coals, put the top on the grill, and went away for about 45 minutes. When I broguth it in, it was cooked and wonderful. I served it over pasta. This is a very mild recipe- no kick at all, so if you have a kid who can't take any kind of spicy food, this recipe is for you!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Indian Chicken
This worked really, really well. It is taken from a recipe for chicken tikka, and modified for a flavorful chicken experience that is much, much easier to make.
You need:
1 package of chicken (I like boneless thighs or breasts), cut into small peices.
1 small container plain yogurt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 clove of garlic, or a teaspoon of minced garlic.
1 teaspoon coriander, whole
1/2 teaspoon ginger, ground
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon curry powder (or plain turmeric)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 small package frozen vegetables (corn worked really nicely)
Mix the yogurt, juice, and spices together in a bowl. Put chicken, sauce, and vegetables int eh crockpot and mix thoroughly. Cook on high for 3 hours. Goes great over rice, and even Joey tried it, because it smells fabulous and tastes even better!
You need:
1 package of chicken (I like boneless thighs or breasts), cut into small peices.
1 small container plain yogurt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 clove of garlic, or a teaspoon of minced garlic.
1 teaspoon coriander, whole
1/2 teaspoon ginger, ground
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon curry powder (or plain turmeric)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 small package frozen vegetables (corn worked really nicely)
Mix the yogurt, juice, and spices together in a bowl. Put chicken, sauce, and vegetables int eh crockpot and mix thoroughly. Cook on high for 3 hours. Goes great over rice, and even Joey tried it, because it smells fabulous and tastes even better!
Monday, July 24, 2006
Meatballs Even Joey Will Eat
You need:
1 package of ground turkey (about 1 1/2 pounds)
15 club or Ritz crackers, smashed to crumbs
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Pinch garlic powder (more to taste)
cooking spray or oil for cooking
Mush together ingredients with your hands until mixture is even and smooth.
Roll into 1 inch balls.
Brown in pan on medium-high heat.
Cover and lower heat to medium; cook for 10 mintues.
Stir and cook for another 10 minutes.
Serve over spaghetti. Joey hates tomato sauce, but would eat the spaghetti and meatballs when left plain. If you like your meatballs spicier, I recommend adding your favorite poultry seasonings.
1 package of ground turkey (about 1 1/2 pounds)
15 club or Ritz crackers, smashed to crumbs
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Pinch garlic powder (more to taste)
cooking spray or oil for cooking
Mush together ingredients with your hands until mixture is even and smooth.
Roll into 1 inch balls.
Brown in pan on medium-high heat.
Cover and lower heat to medium; cook for 10 mintues.
Stir and cook for another 10 minutes.
Serve over spaghetti. Joey hates tomato sauce, but would eat the spaghetti and meatballs when left plain. If you like your meatballs spicier, I recommend adding your favorite poultry seasonings.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Crockpot Turkey Leftovers
We just found this great recipe! Here's what I did:
You need:
Leftover turkey, chopped up.
2 1/2 cups water
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 box of frozen peas and carrots (frozen, not thawed)
2 cups rice (or we used that little pasta that looks like rice)
Salt, pepper, herbs to taste
1. Mix water and soup. Put mixture into your crockpot
2. Add rest of ingredients. Mix it up.
3. Turn the crockpot on. We did high for three hours; you can also put it on low for 5-6 hours.
4. We sprinkled cheese over the top and melted it in the microwave for a minute.
The pasta did get a little soft, but that was ok. The original recipe wanted a chopped onion and a teaspoon of poultry seasoning, and no cheese. The cheese really added to it, though; rounded it out.
We're always on the lookout for leftover turkey recipes! We'll keep you informed!
You need:
Leftover turkey, chopped up.
2 1/2 cups water
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 box of frozen peas and carrots (frozen, not thawed)
2 cups rice (or we used that little pasta that looks like rice)
Salt, pepper, herbs to taste
1. Mix water and soup. Put mixture into your crockpot
2. Add rest of ingredients. Mix it up.
3. Turn the crockpot on. We did high for three hours; you can also put it on low for 5-6 hours.
4. We sprinkled cheese over the top and melted it in the microwave for a minute.
The pasta did get a little soft, but that was ok. The original recipe wanted a chopped onion and a teaspoon of poultry seasoning, and no cheese. The cheese really added to it, though; rounded it out.
We're always on the lookout for leftover turkey recipes! We'll keep you informed!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Cheese Sauce
If you don't like canned sauces, here's a simple way to make a non-tomato sauce:
You need:
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
About 1 cup of milk. Have more ready.
Salt
Pepper
A whisk.
Have all ingredients ready to hand- you need to stay with this sauce.
Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
When it is completely melted, add the flour, and mix ("roux") until it looks thick and dough-y;
Add the milk and mix with a whisk. Turn the heat down to low.
Stir until it thickens. If it thickens too much, add more milk.
Add the salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. Bingo. You have a cream sauce.
OK, now, what do we want to do with this cream base? Here's some ideas:
Add a teaspoon of sherry, and you have an excellent cream sauce for noodles or vegetables. Goes great with seafood, too.
Add a package of cheese. Instant cheese sauce! Perfect for mac and cheese, or over veggies! If your kid insists on cheese sauce being yellow or orange, just add some food coloring.
You need:
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
About 1 cup of milk. Have more ready.
Salt
Pepper
A whisk.
Have all ingredients ready to hand- you need to stay with this sauce.
Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
When it is completely melted, add the flour, and mix ("roux") until it looks thick and dough-y;
Add the milk and mix with a whisk. Turn the heat down to low.
Stir until it thickens. If it thickens too much, add more milk.
Add the salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. Bingo. You have a cream sauce.
OK, now, what do we want to do with this cream base? Here's some ideas:
Add a teaspoon of sherry, and you have an excellent cream sauce for noodles or vegetables. Goes great with seafood, too.
Add a package of cheese. Instant cheese sauce! Perfect for mac and cheese, or over veggies! If your kid insists on cheese sauce being yellow or orange, just add some food coloring.
Taco Casserole
Joey won't eat casseroles like this, but Andy seems to like them very much- if Joey isn't refusing it. This one works very well.
You need:
1 package of ground turkey or beef (about 1 1/2 pounds).
1 can of kidney beans (do not drain!)
1 can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons salsa
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 handfuls of corn chips or 2 heels of wheat bread.
1/2 container of sour cream
1 tomato, cut into cubes
1 package of shredded cheese
Lettuce, chopped for salad
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crumble bread or chips into the bottom of a casserole dish. Wheat bread works better if you are diabetic.
Brown the ground meat. I sometimes add some Italian seasoning to make the whole thing a little spicier.
Drain the browned meat.
Add the kidney beans (undrained), tomato sauce, salsa, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir carefully until mixed.
All mixture to heat until it boils/bubbles.
Pour bubbly mixture over the chips or bread.
Carefully spread the sour cream over the top of the mixture.
Sprinkle the chopped tomato over the sour cream.
Spread cheese over the top of the whole. I usually use about half the package. Use less or more to taste.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. You should see it bubbling, and the cheese should be completely melted when you take it out.
Serve over the lettuce.
This is a yummy chili-like casserole that freezes very well. It isn't too hot/spicey, so my little one likes it; but the tomato means my austic one isn't very into it. Besides, its a casserole. But we need some casseroles in our lives. I'll be trying some casseroles without tomato soon...
You need:
1 package of ground turkey or beef (about 1 1/2 pounds).
1 can of kidney beans (do not drain!)
1 can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons salsa
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 handfuls of corn chips or 2 heels of wheat bread.
1/2 container of sour cream
1 tomato, cut into cubes
1 package of shredded cheese
Lettuce, chopped for salad
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crumble bread or chips into the bottom of a casserole dish. Wheat bread works better if you are diabetic.
Brown the ground meat. I sometimes add some Italian seasoning to make the whole thing a little spicier.
Drain the browned meat.
Add the kidney beans (undrained), tomato sauce, salsa, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir carefully until mixed.
All mixture to heat until it boils/bubbles.
Pour bubbly mixture over the chips or bread.
Carefully spread the sour cream over the top of the mixture.
Sprinkle the chopped tomato over the sour cream.
Spread cheese over the top of the whole. I usually use about half the package. Use less or more to taste.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. You should see it bubbling, and the cheese should be completely melted when you take it out.
Serve over the lettuce.
This is a yummy chili-like casserole that freezes very well. It isn't too hot/spicey, so my little one likes it; but the tomato means my austic one isn't very into it. Besides, its a casserole. But we need some casseroles in our lives. I'll be trying some casseroles without tomato soon...
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Foil packets
So I tried a new recipe. It was supposed to be yummy chicken with pineapple and brown sugar. The trouble was that it had to be cooked in a foil packet.
Apparently, one must be an expert foil-packet-maker for foil packet cooking to work. It is not something to be attempted by the beginner. I didn't consider myself a beginner. I know perfectly well how to fold foil so it seals. However, you do have to leave space around the food for the air to circulate, because foil cooking works like a convection oven. If you leave too much space, the heat does nto build up, and the food doesn't cook. Leave too little, and the air doesn;t circulate and heat properly, and the food doesn't cook. See the problem?
So my recommendation for those looking to cook with foil is to leave enough time to cook the food for a convention amount of time, just in case you don't ge the packets just right. The chicken was fine. Not great.
Apparently, one must be an expert foil-packet-maker for foil packet cooking to work. It is not something to be attempted by the beginner. I didn't consider myself a beginner. I know perfectly well how to fold foil so it seals. However, you do have to leave space around the food for the air to circulate, because foil cooking works like a convection oven. If you leave too much space, the heat does nto build up, and the food doesn't cook. Leave too little, and the air doesn;t circulate and heat properly, and the food doesn't cook. See the problem?
So my recommendation for those looking to cook with foil is to leave enough time to cook the food for a convention amount of time, just in case you don't ge the packets just right. The chicken was fine. Not great.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Really yummy Spaghetti Sauce!
You need:
1 large (16oz) can of whole tomatoes
1 large (16oz) can of crushed tomatoes
2 cans chopped black olives
1 package ground turkey or beef (about a pound and a half)
1 tablespoon sugar
salt
pepper
1/4 cup Italian seasoning/spice (some companies call it seasoning, some call it spice, some herbs...)
1/4 cup Pizza or Spaghetti seasoning/spice
1 tablespoon of flour dissolved in 1/4 cup of water.
1. Brown meat. Sprinkle with some of the Italian seasoning while you cook it.
2. Dump tomatoes, olives, and browned meat into a pot. Add the seasonings, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
3. Allow to simmeron medium-low heat, covered, for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Taste. Add salt and pepper as necessary.
5. Add dissolved flour and water, mix well.
6. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Serve over your favorite noodles and sprinkle with cheese!
I love this sauce, provided the thickening works. The sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes, but it works fine without it. Spaghetti Seasoning is really cool- but if you can't find Pizza or Spaghetti Seasoning, just add more Italian Seasoning and some garlic powder, and it still tastes great. The longer you let it simmer, the spicier it will taste!
This works great with frozen ground meat.
This recipe also freezes well. I like to divide it into individual containers, but it also freezes well as a whole.
My older son won't touch this- it has tomatoes. He prefers plain noodles with butter, or cheese sauce. Stay tuned for my Simple Cheese Sauce!
1 large (16oz) can of whole tomatoes
1 large (16oz) can of crushed tomatoes
2 cans chopped black olives
1 package ground turkey or beef (about a pound and a half)
1 tablespoon sugar
salt
pepper
1/4 cup Italian seasoning/spice (some companies call it seasoning, some call it spice, some herbs...)
1/4 cup Pizza or Spaghetti seasoning/spice
1 tablespoon of flour dissolved in 1/4 cup of water.
1. Brown meat. Sprinkle with some of the Italian seasoning while you cook it.
2. Dump tomatoes, olives, and browned meat into a pot. Add the seasonings, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
3. Allow to simmeron medium-low heat, covered, for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Taste. Add salt and pepper as necessary.
5. Add dissolved flour and water, mix well.
6. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Serve over your favorite noodles and sprinkle with cheese!
I love this sauce, provided the thickening works. The sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes, but it works fine without it. Spaghetti Seasoning is really cool- but if you can't find Pizza or Spaghetti Seasoning, just add more Italian Seasoning and some garlic powder, and it still tastes great. The longer you let it simmer, the spicier it will taste!
This works great with frozen ground meat.
This recipe also freezes well. I like to divide it into individual containers, but it also freezes well as a whole.
My older son won't touch this- it has tomatoes. He prefers plain noodles with butter, or cheese sauce. Stay tuned for my Simple Cheese Sauce!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Quick Cookies
My little guys love ginger cookies, and I have discovered a really quick way to make them!
Betty Crocker makes a Gingerbread Cake mix, and on the back of the box, there is a variation for making cookies! Add a little water, a little flour, and we are off to cookie land!
A couple things about the recipe:
If you like crisp cookies, like we do, squish them down thin with a glass, an bake them for the full time. Let them sit ont eh cookie sheet for a minte before transferring them to a wire rack.
Be sure to roll them in sugar, or they crumble easily, even if you make them the soft way.
They are addictive.
I have tried this trick with other gingerbread mixes, like Washington, and the cookies aren't as sweet. If you are into sweet ginger cookies, use the Betty Crocker mix. However, using the Washington mix rolled in sugar is a good, cheap alternative- the mix is usually about fifty cents. It only makes about a dozen cookies, though.
Betty Crocker makes a Gingerbread Cake mix, and on the back of the box, there is a variation for making cookies! Add a little water, a little flour, and we are off to cookie land!
A couple things about the recipe:
If you like crisp cookies, like we do, squish them down thin with a glass, an bake them for the full time. Let them sit ont eh cookie sheet for a minte before transferring them to a wire rack.
Be sure to roll them in sugar, or they crumble easily, even if you make them the soft way.
They are addictive.
I have tried this trick with other gingerbread mixes, like Washington, and the cookies aren't as sweet. If you are into sweet ginger cookies, use the Betty Crocker mix. However, using the Washington mix rolled in sugar is a good, cheap alternative- the mix is usually about fifty cents. It only makes about a dozen cookies, though.
Slow Cooking
OK, I am addicted to my slow cooker. I admit it. Its a wonderful contraption. You put food in it, toss in some sauce, set the heat, and several hours later, you have dinner. How great is THAT?
Well, there are some problems with slow cooking. First, with cheap cookers, you have to put the food in within certain time windows, or you're not having a slow-cooker dinner tonight. I have a cheap cooker, so I have to pay attention to how long stuff needs to cook, and be sure I am putting food into it in time for it come out for about 6 pm. Secondly, someone has come up with the not-so-bright idea of inventing slow cooker recipes that require you to open the pot and add stuff during teh cooking process. The point of a slow cooker is that the food cooks and you don't have to mess with it. Inventing recipes where I have to mess with it is completely pointless. However, now you have to wade through these complicated recipes to find good, simple ones.
To make the slow cooker easier, I started paying attention to the cooking times. If you are into experimenting, it seems to be a general rule of thumb that chicken cooks in about 2-3 hours on high, beef and pork take about 5 hours on high, 8 hours on low.
Here's my favorite easy-slow-cooker recipe:
2-3 pound beef roast
3-5 potatoes, medium size
2 tablespoons of Worchestershire Sauce
Seasoned salt to taste
Seasoned Pepper to taste
1/3 cup water
Clean and slice the potatoes. I leave the skins on. Place these at teh bottom of the crockpot. Place the roast on top. Add the water, then the Worchestershire, salt and pepper. I use about 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and liberally sprinkle the roast with the pepper.
Put the top on the pot, and set: high, 5 hours; low, 8 hours. I prefer high for 5 hours, because I can put everything in while one of my kids is napping. At 6 o'clock, we have dinner! Pot roast! Yum!
Well, there are some problems with slow cooking. First, with cheap cookers, you have to put the food in within certain time windows, or you're not having a slow-cooker dinner tonight. I have a cheap cooker, so I have to pay attention to how long stuff needs to cook, and be sure I am putting food into it in time for it come out for about 6 pm. Secondly, someone has come up with the not-so-bright idea of inventing slow cooker recipes that require you to open the pot and add stuff during teh cooking process. The point of a slow cooker is that the food cooks and you don't have to mess with it. Inventing recipes where I have to mess with it is completely pointless. However, now you have to wade through these complicated recipes to find good, simple ones.
To make the slow cooker easier, I started paying attention to the cooking times. If you are into experimenting, it seems to be a general rule of thumb that chicken cooks in about 2-3 hours on high, beef and pork take about 5 hours on high, 8 hours on low.
Here's my favorite easy-slow-cooker recipe:
2-3 pound beef roast
3-5 potatoes, medium size
2 tablespoons of Worchestershire Sauce
Seasoned salt to taste
Seasoned Pepper to taste
1/3 cup water
Clean and slice the potatoes. I leave the skins on. Place these at teh bottom of the crockpot. Place the roast on top. Add the water, then the Worchestershire, salt and pepper. I use about 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and liberally sprinkle the roast with the pepper.
Put the top on the pot, and set: high, 5 hours; low, 8 hours. I prefer high for 5 hours, because I can put everything in while one of my kids is napping. At 6 o'clock, we have dinner! Pot roast! Yum!
Why Cooking For the Kids?
There are, literally, thousands of cooking and recipe sites out there in teh big World Wide Web. Millions of recipes just waiting to be tried, tinkered with, wondered about, and even scrapped. Why put another one out there?
I have discovered a number of unfortunate things about cooking and recipe sites:
1. Most "easy" recipes include tomatoes. My son doesn't eat anything with tomato.
2. Most recipes are for three or more people. Finding recipes for a single child with special needs is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I have a child with autism, and food textures are something I always have to consider- sometimes I need to feed my non-autistic child something other than mac and cheese, hot dogs, or peanut butter and jelly.
3. I've never had a recipe I've pulled off the net, gone into my kitchen, and been able to get perfect. This is probably partly because I am not a gourmet cook- but then, how many gourmet cooks ARE there in the world? How many of them are trying to raise kids?
So I am offering my own experiences with recipes, and hoping it will benefit moms everywhere to hear exactly what happened when I tried something. Did the kids like it? Was it easy? What needed tweaking? What variations worked? Which ones didn't?
Please check out my links. I have selected some recipe/cooking sites I have found useful as places to begin a cooking experience. For example, the Kraft site is an excellent place to go trawling for recipes to try, though they usually need tweaking. I would also like to recommend _The Joy of Cooking_- a fabulous resource for those of us who have no idea what we are doing in the kitchen. This is a cookbook that provides simple, straight-forward instructions for dealing with ANYTHING. Mom and Dad show up with a rib roast and expect you to cook it? No problem. Some wonderful neighbor bring you 15 pounds of butternut squash form their garden? No problem! Love it. I also have a 1940's edition, which gives you "work-arounds" for rationing- what to do when you have no flour, no sugar, no baking soda, etc. I recommend tracking one down, its great for when you need dinner tonight, don't have an ingredient, and can't go to the store!
I have discovered a number of unfortunate things about cooking and recipe sites:
1. Most "easy" recipes include tomatoes. My son doesn't eat anything with tomato.
2. Most recipes are for three or more people. Finding recipes for a single child with special needs is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I have a child with autism, and food textures are something I always have to consider- sometimes I need to feed my non-autistic child something other than mac and cheese, hot dogs, or peanut butter and jelly.
3. I've never had a recipe I've pulled off the net, gone into my kitchen, and been able to get perfect. This is probably partly because I am not a gourmet cook- but then, how many gourmet cooks ARE there in the world? How many of them are trying to raise kids?
So I am offering my own experiences with recipes, and hoping it will benefit moms everywhere to hear exactly what happened when I tried something. Did the kids like it? Was it easy? What needed tweaking? What variations worked? Which ones didn't?
Please check out my links. I have selected some recipe/cooking sites I have found useful as places to begin a cooking experience. For example, the Kraft site is an excellent place to go trawling for recipes to try, though they usually need tweaking. I would also like to recommend _The Joy of Cooking_- a fabulous resource for those of us who have no idea what we are doing in the kitchen. This is a cookbook that provides simple, straight-forward instructions for dealing with ANYTHING. Mom and Dad show up with a rib roast and expect you to cook it? No problem. Some wonderful neighbor bring you 15 pounds of butternut squash form their garden? No problem! Love it. I also have a 1940's edition, which gives you "work-arounds" for rationing- what to do when you have no flour, no sugar, no baking soda, etc. I recommend tracking one down, its great for when you need dinner tonight, don't have an ingredient, and can't go to the store!
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